Martyn Ashton Suffers Significant Spinal Injury

Martyn Ashton, international mountain bike trials legend, ex­-World Champion and star of the Road Bike Party YouTube sensation, was injured during a trials demo held on Sunday 1st September at Silverstone’s Moto GP, England.

During one of the stunts on the Animal WD40 Action Sports Tour, Martyn fell backwards off of a three metre­ high bar and hit the ground with significant force. The impact caused severe damage to his spine, dislocating the T9 and T10 vertebrae.

After paramedics stabilised him at the scene, Martyn was swiftly airlifted to Coventry Hospital where he received emergency treatment and was admitted to Intensive Care.

New Day, Different TrialThe initial prognosis is not positive: Martyn has currently lost feeling below the point of injury. He has now been moved to RJ&AH Hospital Oswestry’s Specialist Spinal Care Unit where he is receiving treatment and undergoing further tests to assess the extent of his injuries and to map the road to recovery.

The current medical plan is for Martyn to undergo six weeks of complete bed rest to allow his body to heal itself as much as possible. At that point a lot more will be known as to the long term recovery he will be able to expect. Once the joint is stable he will then undertake a long and hard rehabilitation programme.

“Since the accident I've received so many wonderful messages and well wishes, I can't thank everyone enough for those – it has been hugely supportive,” said Martyn. ”I'm also incredibly lucky to have amazing family and friends, who are all rallying around myself, Lisa and Alfie, and helping us through this tough time. As a result I'm feeling very positive and ready to face the tough challenge ahead. I'm just taking it day by day, hoping that I can make enough progress over the next three months to be home for Christmas.”

Secret FilmingIt’s currently too early to say what long term recovery Martyn can expect, however he is keen for everyone to know he is absolutely focused on his care and is also determined to release his next video, Road Bike Party 2, which he has been secretly working on.

“My main focus this year was to make my next video Road Bike Party 2 – this has not changed. I've been training really hard on the new road bike and I've felt like I've been riding better on this video than I've ever ridden in my entire life. I was so confident on that bike. Unfortunately we hadn't quite completed the filming – we were so close – but thanks to the team behind me and some great friends I’m excited that we are close to pulling the final edit together... so watch this space!”

About Martyn AshtonMartyn Ashton started riding motorcycle trials at the age of 11, reaching a high standard by the age of 18 and competing in national competitions. At this age he then ventured into push bike trials with immediate success seeing him selected for the Great Britain squad to compete at the World Championships. In 1993, the following year, Martyn won the British Bike Trial Championship and continued to dominate the British competition scene for the next 10 years.

1995 was a big year for Martyn. He joined the all­-conquering Volvo­Cannondale Mountain Bike Race Team and won a World Bike Trial Championship. He then spent the next seven years riding on the Volvo­Cannondale squad with his focus gradually moving more and more to live shows and media coverage. In 2002 Martyn started riding for Animal Clothing and also created his own bicycle brand ‘Ashton Bikes’; Martyn's designs were strikingly different and influenced trials bike design for many years to come.

During his career with Animal, which continues to the present day, Martyn has taken his live shows from a one­ man demonstration to an annual national tour with action from some of the best extreme sports athletes in the country.

One of Martyn's strengths has always been producing great riding footage for videos. This talent was evident in his early career in VHS hits such as the Trainspotting­ inspired Chain Spotting, Tricks and Stunts and, more recently, with the huge YouTube hit Road Bike Party which has received more than 8.5 million views to date.

175 Comments

Get well Martyn. I'm on week 5 of bed rest after crushing T4-T6 while riding in Winter Park, CO. It's tough and you get a little stir-crazy, but remember that your injury could have been worse. Healing vibes to you.

Oof....been there, still rehabbing. The feeling of your spine collapsing or letting go is something you don't forget. Did you get that feeling of having the wind knocked out of you, but it didn't come from your solar plexus? I remember so clearly having to wait to stop tomahawking down the hillside so I could see if my legs still worked - thankfully they did.

Best wishes to Martyn, Gillespie, and any others who have suffered spinal injuries. One way or another anything in life can be overcome. Mental strength is the bottom line in all things.

I would imagine it would involve visualizing them healing their broken body parts. Their has been some proof that visualizing the parts healing can aid the process, so if nothing else it is showing public support of this process. I guess you could say it's a spiritual thing to say, but not religious.
I remember reading his articles in mountain biking uk when they had a trials section. At one point I thought he and Rob Warner were the same person. Best regards and sending out flying spaghetti healing frequencies.

If you google 'visualizaion healing study' you will be exposed to a whole series of articles that overwhelmingly supprt the fact that the mind can be used to aid the healing process, and there are studies that back it. It is similar to the visualization techniques that pretty much every successful athlete uses in that you have to believe in it for it to help you.
It does not work conclusively in every case, but the general consensus is that visualizing healing can't hurt, but it might help. I'm not trying to start a debate, just trying to help the inured and give them some hope.

What a year. First Martin, now Martyn. This is awful. I'm looking forward to the next video so don't take too long healing up. Maybe ProTour can get Jesus, Yahweh & Allah in on this too? Whaddaya think there Protour, can your magic buddies in the sky assist Martyn's positive thoughts to heal his spine? Maybe if we all focus real hard & will it to happen all at the same time we can psychically, telekinetically, put it all back together. :/

Just a wee correction there - we only use a small portion of our brains to operate our conscious mind. The rest of the brain is the sub-conscious, along with the reflex and constant functions (heart, lungs etc), that keep us ticking over. The confusion that caused the 'we don't use our brain's potential' comment, is that we don't know which bits of the brain do what, or how, or why. It is an incredibly complex organ, but sadly not granted with latent psychic ability, or at least not in the form that we interpret it.

That being said I feel deeply sorry for Martyn and anyone who wishes to give him support in whatever way they feel possible is more than welcome in my mind. I just don't hold with the attempts to claim it as provable scientific fact

Get well soon partner! Doctors aren't always right either, they said my dad wouldn't ever walk again after his motorcycle accident, but with a lot of rehab and determination he made a full recovery! Best of luck to you brother!

I assure you that he wasn't on the first copy of MBUK either as that was published before he was riding. I remember when Martin and Martyn were introduced in MBUK, probably 1993ish, they had both just picked up sponsors from a local bike shop in Wales and were riding red Specialized Rockhoppers I think. I remember the cover well. They were always called the Martins, which I thought kind of offended Martyn!

I know this makes me sound like a total duche but this has teared me up abit...I know no one cares but he has been a real inspiration, I saw him at a trail center in Scotland about 4 years ago and since then loved the guy...proper gutted to hear this...hope u get better soon!

Gutted. I remember watching him on OLN mtb. shows - he had some skill-lesson segments that actually helped me progress from a total newb into an aspiring hack. Definitely the utmost healing vibes to this legend.

I never thought that one could get such a nasty injury on a trials bike, it looks so easy and safely (you know, no such speed as in DH) in all these videos... it's easy to forget that with higher skills comes also a higher risk. Best healing vibes to you!

FYI, this was in the news in 2009 but thought everyone should get a chance to know a little more about it and where this technique is going. This was the shortest article I could find with the simplest explanation.

Only for a small bit though. Then it fades away.
This is a very interesting article, thanks for sharing kamanchi
And as everyone else has said, healing vibes sent your way Martyn...im going thru a dislocated AC joint and trying to stay mentally strong is the really difficult part. I cant imagine how you feel...im praying for you!!

So gutted that this has happened to such an amazing rider and someone who influenced so many (including me) to get on the bike and spend hours learning to hop up and down things, and other trials based skills. Those skills help every type of rider. We all know you have the determination to be back on the bike. I'm sending all my healing vibes your way and will keep my fingers crossed the healing process is as quick and thorough as possible!!! Looking forward to seeing you on a bike again.

One of my biggest fears. I've had two back surgeries and no longer have the same back i was born with. My back is forever changed because of some stupid ass bitch texting while driving.
I still ride but I need to stay grounded and resist the urge to go all out. The fact I can ride is enough. God forbid I couldn't even do that.

I've been banged up as well, broken neck 11 years ago and lots more upper body injuries. Biggest thing for us losers going forward is remembering to have fun and ride well but to stay "inside the envelope" cause there's can't be too many more f-ups. Sorry yours was due to some dumbass not paying attention.

Get well Martyn, stay positive.

It f-ing sucks, as a country we can spend billions on nonsense, weapons, marketing initiatives, super bowl ads, and yet severing the spinal nerve has no cure. It affects everybody, from athletes to normal folks walking down the street, to our military serving in dangerous places. I hope our generation sees some significant progress in treating spinal injuries, I know we can.

get well. A legend who's reign precedes my interest in mountain biking (Same with Shane McConkey, I bet there are lots of kids who only got into it in time for his last couple of videos, but were inspired nonetheless). Road bike party is one of the most creative things done on bikes lately, a refreshing break from the drifting, whipping, tabling that has become commonplace in MTB movies.

all of us earthlings benefit in our riding from the groundbreaking risks that guys like you (and that guy named "martin" too) take all of the time. thanks for making our mountain biking lives, and our lives as a whole, way better than they would be otherwise. get well!

Had the privilege to meet and ride with Martyn several times, he is such a top guy. An incredible rider, and a great icon of mountain biking. So sad to hear the news, just hope he heals well and gets his feel/movement back. I do wonder if this will make them consider crash mats etc considering how crazy their roadshow set up is. 3M is a LONG way down. Anyway, healing vibes to you Martyn. Thinking of you and yours.

Get well. You have some serious skills. I'd like to plug all the badasses that keep on going despite varying levels of recovery. Here is a great video with quads and paraplegics proving that they do what they love no matter what. vimeo.com/10309216(Full Disclosure: I'm a rehab doc who's been downhilling and reading pink bike long before med school. In fact the reason i chose this specialty is for people just like Martyn.) Don't worry things are gonna turn out. Good Luck.

get well martin, I was in oswestry spinal unit when I shattered t4 t5 and c6 c7 in my neck and compression fractured another 7 vertebrae lower down my spine, the team there are some of the very best in the world so your in good hands, i'm about 85 to 90% recovered, good luck and hope you recover well

Martyn is one of my idols and the guy who made me realise what was actually possible on a mountain bike and inspired me to start riding properly. I first saw him in the early days of the Animal bike Tour when he was riding with Chopper and since that day have watched the Bike Tour every year when it comes to my area and haven't stopped riding. Heal up soon Martyn, you are a legend and an inspiration.

Stick to it, Martin. I basically destroyed my T3-T5 at a DH race. I spent my 20th birthday in rehab. At least that birthday was my first birthday spent with my other half... My 19th birthday was spent in Basic Training for the Air force, and even with doctors around me telling me I would probably never walk again, I was happy. My goal in life has always been to own my own recording studio, and my injury has no effect on my ability to be an audio engineer. While I loved serving, I'm surrounded by family and friends now, and I have heard far too many stories of people doomed never to walk again making partial and even full recoveries many years down the road even to believe that I will ABSOLUTELY be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Anything's possible, and that's not just some pipe dream... It's true. If Cam Zink himself can take the time to send me a box of signed goodies for my birthday, not even knowing who I am, then walking again someday is definitely possible.
And remember... No matter what you will be able to do from now on, you will always be a true rider.

I've been riding trials now for 3 years and Martyn's always been an inspiration to me even before i started. I saw this this morning and rewatched the video and instantly went out on my bike and started trying new things as a kind of tribute and managed to land my first 360 flat spin after only a few tries. Thank you Martyn for being so influential on the sport and myself and I hope you get well and get back on the bike soon so i can try and copy more of your amazing riding!

Get well soon Martyn!
My Bro fractured 7 vertebra including his C2 vertebra in a downhill accident back in 2009. His back and neck were rebuilt with titanium plates and pins. He made a total recovery and today you would never tell he had the accident.
Be positive!

I saw them putting someone onto the air ambulance as i was directly opposite, on Chapel bend, i had no idea at the time what had happened as i was watching the moto gp race, now i know who it was and am saddened to here of the injuries, get well soon matey can't wait for Road Bike Party 2

hi Martin, get well soon sending massive positive vibes your way!! I have been there in rjah hospital with 4 broken verts from t4 to t8, 5 years ago and you are in the best possible place on the entire planet!!! Absolutely fantastic care and expertise and positive vibes will heal, hope to see you doing some awesome tricks again soon!